Tucked into the sandstone flank of the Valley of the Kings, KV 62 is hardly more than a corridor, a stair and a single painted chamber, but what a chamber! Built in haste for the boy-king who is thought to have died unexpectedly, Tutankhamun’s tomb became, thanks to Howard Carter’s discovery on November 4th, 1922,...
The battle of Kadesh is one of the world’s largest chariot battles, fought beside the Orontes River, King Ramesses II sought to wrest Syria from the Hittites and recapture the Hittite-held city of Kadesh. There was a day of carnage as some 5,000 chariots charged into the fray, but no outright victor. The Kadesh Treaty...
Taken from Spell 144 of the ‘Book of the Dead’, they were the keepers of the gates of the Underworld, menacing the enemies of order with their sharpened knives. “Egyptians were probably the first to be aware of the nobility inherent in the human form and to express it in art. One can sense the...
In this relief, the goddess Seshat, depicted in a leopard skin, goddess of wisdom, knowledge, and is credited with inventing writing. She also became identified as the goddess of accounting, architecture, astronomy, astrology, building, mathematics, and surveying. In ancient Egypt, the levels of literacy were rather low, less than 1%. Although there were some areas,...
This map of ancient Egypt details the key settlements of the Ancient Egyptian civilization. Also shown are many of the important Ancient Egyptian sites and temples that remain today. The various capitals of the period are highlighted on the map in addition to the locations of the natural resources and minerals exploited by the Ancient...
A Wall painting from the Tomb of Seti I (KV17) depicting the the journey of the sun god Amun-Re in his ram-headed form, standing in his solar barque, detail from the ‘Book of Gates’. The Book of Gates is an ancient Egyptian funerary text dating from the New Kingdom. It narrates the passage of a...
When Re was in the underworld, he merged with Osiris, the god of the dead, and through it became the god of the dead as well. The union of the gods Re and Osiris (in the guise of a ram-headed mummy which wears the sun’s disk between its horizontal, corkscrew horns). The “Amduat”, like the...
Detail of a wall relief depicting Osiris and Isis in the Temple of Seti I in Abydos, the cult center of Osiris, lord of the dead. The necropolis is a place of pilgrimage and burial and at least ten temples were originally constructed there. Among those ten temples, three remain that are of special note. These...
The head of the Sphinx of Giza is encased in scaffolding and works are under way excavating the body. Early 20th-century excavation at the Giza Necropolis. An earlier Sphinx excavation was marked by the Dream Stele (around 1401 BC) of Thutmose IV, at lower center. The granite altar (bottom) between the Sphinx’s paws dates from...
Relief depicts metalworkers employed in the manufacture of jewelry, smelting gold by blowing into a furnace. Detail of a wall carving in the Mastaba of Mereruka. The ancient Egyptians did engage in gold manufacturing during the Old Kingdom. Gold was highly valued and sought after in ancient Egypt, and it was used for various purposes,...
